Name
of Business:
An Family Collection - Crustacean Restaurants
Name
of Entrepreneur:
Elizabeth
An
Location:
Los
Angeles, CA
Type
of Business:
Restaurants
What
does your business do?
The
An Family Collection is the umbrella name for the many restaurants
under it. These restaurants mainly consist of Crustacean in
Beverly Hills, San Francisco, and Las Vegas.
When
and why did you start the biz?
Crustacean,
in Beverly Hills, was opened in 1997. Before it opened, I
was living in London and had decided that I wasn’t able
to run our company from there. I decided to open a restaurant
in Beverly Hills because I didn’t want to move to San
Francisco to deal with family after my divorce.
How
Many People are in your Company?
500
What's
the toughest part of running your biz?
Owning a restaurant in America is very different from owning
a restaurant in Vietnam. In Vietnam, owning a restaurant is
considered a temporary employment situation. In America, restaurant
owners last longer in the business and can become very well
known.
What's
the most fun part?
I’ve
enjoyed building a fashionable restaurant, as I’ve always
dabbled a bit in fashion.
What's
next on the horizon for your biz?
We
are opening another restaurant called “536 Sutter”
soon. We’re also planning on marketing our own frozen
hors d’oeuvres, which will be sold in high-end grocery
stores.
What
advice do you have for others?
Always welcome
guest opinions and use them to create a successful product.
Also, be determined and focused on the goals you want to meet.
Prior
jobs or business or education?
I attended U.C. San Francisco, where I studied marketing
and international business. However, I wanted to contribute
also to our family restaurant business, so I pitched the idea
of opening a new high-end version of the restaurant we already
had, Thanh Long. This was the start of our first Crustacean
restaurant, in San Francisco.
Is
there any one person or event in your life that led you to
go into business for yourself? My
grandmother started everything; she started the first An restaurant.
The company is family run, by the women in our family.
Contact Info: N/A
Website URL:
http://www.anfamily.com |
